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The unmet need in
geographic atrophy

Geographic Atrophy

Patients & caregivers

Geographic atrophy has a notable disease burden for patients and for those who care for them. The loss of vision can be traumatic and impacts many aspects of a patient’s financial and social life, including relationships, hobbies and daily activities.1

Patients & caregivers

Geographic atrophy has a notable disease burden for patients and for those who care for them. The loss of vision can be traumatic and impacts many aspects of a patient’s financial and social life, including relationships, hobbies and daily activities.1

Geographic atrophy is a leading cause of legal blindness and is estimated to account for around 25% of all cases attributed to AMD.2

Prevalence of late AMD is expected to increase further with the aging population, and it is predicted there will be over 18 million cases by 2040.3

Devastating emotional and financial impact on both patients and their caregivers, and a substantial negative impact on an individual’s ability to perform essential and enjoyable daily activities.1,4–6

Driving

Reading

Travelling

Hobbies

Working

A new survey of those living with geographic atrophy reveals that this disease comes with a large emotional burden and loss of independence.6

The global Geographic Atrophy Insights Survey (GAINS) (N=203), conducted by The Harris Poll and sponsored by Apellis Pharmaceuticals, found that for nearly 7 in 10 (68%) of people living with GA, the impact of vision decline on their independence and quality of life is worse than they expected.6

(35%) withdrew from their social lives due to vision loss6

agree the impact of vision decline on quality of life (QoL) and independence is worse than they expected6

(77%) agree their vision was impacted faster than they expected6

of those who have difficulty recognising faces feel frustrated when they cannot recognise the faces of friends or family6

of people living with GA agree that prior to their diagnosis, they attributed their vision loss to a natural part of ageing6

wish they had understood the irreversible impact geographic atrophy would have on their vision6

Living with geographic atrophy can take a deep emotional toll. Of those who have difficulty recognising faces due to vision loss (n=61), 49% feel frustrated when they cannot recognise the faces of friends or family. Furthermore, out of all respondents, ~1 in 3 (35%) withdrew from their social lives because of geographic atrophy. These hardships also often come as a surprise, as most (77%) people living with Geographic Atrophy agree that the impact on vision is happening faster than they anticipated.6

People living with GA report feeling:6

Despite these challenges, those living with geographic atrophy wish there were more educational materials for patients and caregivers (86%). There is a meaningful opportunity to empower them by providing more support as they navigate a future living with geographic atrophy.6

want more information and options about geographic atrophy to feel empowered to take control of their disease6

wish there were more educational materials available for patients and caregivers6

What is geographic atrophy

The global Geographic Atrophy Insights Survey (GAINS) was sponsored by Apellis and conducted by The Harris Poll between October 12 and December 10, 2021. To accommodate visually impaired respondents, the survey was conducted online and by telephone among 203 participants aged 60 or over (mean age 70 years) residing in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Canada and Australia who self-reported that they had been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and have dry AMD in at least one of their eyes. They must also have indicated that they had advanced atrophic age-related macular degeneration or advanced atrophic AMD, advanced/late/late-stage dry age-related macular degeneration or advanced dry AMD, or geographic atrophy (GA) in one or both of their eyes. Included patients must have been currently experiencing at least 3 GA symptoms and currently do/used to do/or have been suggested by an eye care professional but have not done at least one of the following: take a high-dose formulation of antioxidant vitamins and minerals, stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly, choose a healthy diet, manage other medical conditions, have check-ups of the retina regularly, or wear sunglasses with UV protection. Included patients must not have been diagnosed with glaucoma, Stargardt disease or dementia, or be receiving regular injections into the affected eye every 4 to 6 weeks.

References

  1. Sarda SP, et al. Clin Ophthalmol. 2021;15:4629–4644.
  2. Charkravarthy U, et al. Ophthalmology. 2018;125(6):842–849.
  3. Boyer DS, et al. Retina. 2017;37(5):819–835.
  4. Sivaprasad S, et al. Ophthalmol Ther. 2019;8(1):115–124.
  5. Jones D, et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2022;63(7):4217–A0145.
  6. Apellis & The Harris Poll. 2022. Geographic Atrophy Insights Survey (GAINS).

UK-GA-2300013     February 2024